Thursday, November 05, 2015

The Shoals of November.

In his latest book, [Frederick] Stonehouse lays out the myriad theories
surrounding the Fitzgerald disaster, including unsecured hatch covers,
deferred maintenance, a trio of 30-foot-plus rogue waves known as “Three
Sisters,” and the notion that the ship either was structurally unsound
or off-course.

“Others have talked about space aliens that
supposedly were seen on the northern shore of the lake,” Stonehouse said
dismissively in a recent telephone interview with The Detroit News.

After
years of research, he’s inclined to believe that the ship likely hit a
shoal and took on dangerous amounts of water even as it was buffeted by
hurricane-force winds and blinding snow squalls. Stonehouse said he came
to that conclusion gradually, based on conversations with Capt. Bernie
Cooper, who was the last to speak to the Fitzgerald’s captain. Cooper’s
ship, the Arthur M. Anderson, was closest to the Fitzgerald during the
treacherous storm.

“In my mind and if I were to put money on it,
she probably hit Caribou Shoal,” Stonehouse said, emphasizing, however,
that there’s no proof of that. “She bottomed out and continued forward
for a while before the damage finally broke her up. The damage, in
combination with the extreme storm, caused the ship to dive to the
bottom.”

In my earlier edition of his book, he blamed the wreck on defective hatch covers and the unwise decision to increase the ship's load limit. I tended to agree with his earlier argument, but now...looks like I'll need another book.